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There is nothing wrong with "pulitika" during disasters, especially if it is coming from citizens. This, because disaster is ultimately a "political" problem. (1/9)
Truth is, we already possess and/or have access to the technology to build climate-robust communities, residential buildings, and production areas, but we can't because we have rules that favor land developers, miners, loggers, coal plant owners. (2/9)
Our society possesses resources to build infrastructure to mitigate climate risks, finance the reorganization of production & work, but we have a ruling political class that favors austerity so we remain reliant on corporations - which our rulers work for or are part of. (3/9)
Societies like Vietnam, handicapped by war, or Japan, exposed to worse hazards & lacking natural resources, managed to solve their technological & physical constraints through "politics", via governments willing to discipline markets into fulfilling collective aspirations. (4/9)
And now they're able to fight their way out of pandemics & earthquakes & supertyphoons - each disaster inducing a manic social reorganization to minimize future risk, facilitated by strong States able to impose taxes on the wealthy while guaranteeing basic services to all. (5/9)
UK built the National Health Service in 1948 after WW2 devastation. Singapore guaranteed public housing in 1960 even with post-independence fiscal constraints. Worldwide depression didn't stop Denmark from building its welfare state via Kanslergade Agreement in 1930. (6/9)
All these countries, then struggling, used crises to evolve better governments - and with that, more affluent & robust societies decades after. Their citizens made that possible precisely via politics: workers strikes, overthrowing a popular party, supporting public power. (7/9)
We can do the same, and use this hell year of 2020 - one of pandemics, volcanic explosion, earthquakes, rise of tragicomedic authoritarians, supertyphoons - to build political movements for a better Philippines. (8/9)
This means "pulitika": mocking incompetence, discrediting apologists, exposing hypocrisy, threatening corruption w/ future punishment, marketing the brand of champions, forming tactical alliances. All the dirty work, for the edifice of all great monuments are built w/ dirt. (9/9)
